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Posted: |
May 30, 2005 - 8:40 PM
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By: |
Valere
(Member)
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The first time he hears about Muc Wa, a military outpost left behind by the French in Vietnam, the Maj. Barker makes his thinking clear. In the early war year of 1964, Muc Wa has no significance; no Cong sightings have been reported within 50 miles. But U.S. headquarters in Da Nang wants Muc Wa occupied and defended, and so it is the task of the major and his men to occupy and defend it. The major is played by Burt Lancaster as a cigar-chewing veteran of Korea, a career soldier. His men are, officially, American military advisers, commanding a ragtag unit of Vietnamese volunteers. He has grave misgivings about the way this war is being run, especially when he's given his own psychological warfare expert, complete with computer printouts and color-coded gadgets to predict where the Cong will strike next. Lancaster knows better: The enemy is everywhere and nowhere, and the assignment of American forces to Muc Wa will serve only to draw Cong there, too. He knows this, and falsifies a report, and his bluff is called, and he winds up sending men to Muc Wa all the same. Sure enough, the Cong turn up. Go Tell the Spartans considers the war in Vietnam in terms of the microcosm of Muc Wa in 1964, and so contains a lot of statements that are meant to be prophetic in hindsight. It also considers the war in terms of countless earlier movies about earlier wars, so we get tried-and-true characters like the gung-ho second lieutenant, the crazy kid, the battle-scarred sergeant, the wise-cracking radio operator and, or course, the commander who has seen it all before. But the clichés do their duty once again, generally speaking; the movie's tightly directed by Ted Post. The director is apparently directing on a modest budget, and yet he creates a realistic war setting and believable characters. The most believable is Lancaster, who brings a nice subtlety to his character. The major should have been promoted long ago, but tells a story (maybe true, maybe not) about why he wasn't. As a field commander, he's tough and realistic. But he's unhappy about this war, and especially about such allies as "Cowboy," his Vietnamese liaison, who lies to torture Cong prisoners and occasionally behead them. The problem with Cowboy, as the movie makes clear, is that he's also a realist. A fatal chain of events begins when the Americans don't believe Cowboy's instincts about who is a Viet Cong and who isn't. But then the movie's about a chain of events based on fatal misunderstandings as the abandoned and overgrown French cemetery at Muc Wa eventually makes clear.
Cast:
Burt Lancaster, Maj. Asa Barker
Craig Wasson, Cpl. Stephen Courcey
Jonathan Goldsmith, Sgt. Oleonowski
Marc Singer, Capt. Al Olivetti
Joe Unger, Lt. Raymond Hamilton
Dennis Howard, Cpl. Abraham Lincoln
David Clennon, Lt. Finley Wattsberg
Evan Kim, Cowboy
John Megna, Cpl. Ackley
Hilly Hicks, Signalman Coffee
Dolph Sweet, Gen. Hamitz
Clyde Kusatsu, Col. Minh
Production Credits:
Producers, Allan F. Bodoh and Mitchell Cannold
Directo,r Ted Post
Screenwriter, Wendell Mayes (based on the novel Incident at Muc Wa by Daniel Ford)
Editor, Millie Moore
Cinematographer, Harry Stradling Jr.
Composer, Dick Halligan
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Posted: |
May 30, 2005 - 9:08 PM
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By: |
Valere
(Member)
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Clearly one of the best Vietnam Films - Rating: 3/5
I first saw this film in the theater. It was genuine. I rate it high. I would recommend it without reservation, except, if what you know about Vietnam you learned from Hollywood or on campus, it may surprise you. It's not about what the other movie makers wanted to show you, to shock you, to entertain, to proselytize. I never kept a scorecard of technical deficiencies, but to my mind, "Go Tell the Spartans was unmatched by Vietnam stories on film until "We Were Soldiers" in 2002, nearly a quarter century later. There were several others that tried hard. One prolific and self-assured reviewer has rated "Spartans" a one star and does a "Siskel and Ebert" number on it, during which, unwittingly, he discredits his own commentary, at least in the eyes of this veteran, when he says Go Tell the Spartans "...is no way comparable to the great post-Vietnam War films...Apocalypse Now, Taxidriver, Platoon, Born in the USA, and finally the devastating Full Metal Jacket..." Really? Apocalypse Now was a fairy tale! It may have been great storyline and cinematography, as were the Lord of the Rings, but fairy tales, none the less. And, Stone's movies seemed more defaming of real soldiers, with political overtones. I returned from Vietnam in 1969. I know a man who was in Vietnam 15 years earlier - 5 years before our country acknowledged our first casualties [The Memorial dates the war from 1959 to 1975]. There are many millions of stories about Vietnam over the course of a changing war that was the longest in our history. Go Tell the Spartans is one such story. It wasn't the most memorable, by Hollywood standards. But it was compelling. And it was the most believable. And, in this veteran's assessment, whatever its warts, Go Tell the Spartans was the best until "We Were Soldiers".
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Posted: |
Jun 12, 2005 - 11:17 PM
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By: |
CAT
(Member)
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Valere...
I feel terrible that your post was overlooked. All I can say is that it happens sometimes, especially over a holiday (Memorial Day in this case) when fewer people are on the board.
Regardless of the reason, I happened upon it now, and I assure you, you have my attention. I haven't seen "Go Tell the Spartans," but I shall definately try to find it and watch it. And it is your passion about it, dear sir, which has prompted me to do so.
BTW: Spent the afternoon with my brother-in-law who is a Viet Nam vet, and yes, I hug him every chance I get. In fact, I make it a point to thank the vets from all wars for their service whenever I meet one. It's the very least we can do, and it does matter.
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Valere,
This is the first time I have seen your post on this film. It is time someone recognize this film as a realistic addition to what is now the Vietnam legacy.
I saw this film in New Jersey when it first opened due to positive reviews and then not too long afterwards, died off in boxoffice returns and disappeared until it showed up on HBO.
At first, I thought Burt Lancaster was too old for the role, but talking to veterans, some of the earliest American advisors had experience from Korea and World War II.
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